BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is poised to sign a bill that would repeal a series of antiquated state laws, including an abortion ban with roots dating to 1845.
The Republican governor plans to sign the bill Friday morning at the Statehouse.
Abortion rights activists say Republican President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court raises the possibility the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that created a nationwide right to abortion could be overturned.
Critics say a 1981 state court ruling rendered the archaic laws moot.
Also Friday Baker plans to sign a bill making Massachusetts the latest U.S. state — with California, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey and Oregon — to require people be at least 21 before they can buy cigarettes, tobacco or vaping products.
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